Beloit

 

(bə'loit) , city (1990 pop. 35,573), Rock co., S Wis., on the Rock River; inc. 1846. It lies in an agricultural area. Beloit's manufactures include papermaking machinery, engines, food, and knives. A trading post was established on the site in 1824 for trade with the Winnebagos, and in 1837 the first permanent settlers arrived from New England. Beloit College, founded in 1846, is there.

City of Beloit, Wisconsin
Beloit Water Tower, constructed in 1889.
Flag
Nickname: Gateway To Wisconsin or "Belwah"
Location of Beloit in Wisconsin
Coordinates: 42°30′30″N 89°01′54″W / 42.50833, -89.03167
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Rock
Founded	1836
Incorporated	February 24 1846 (village) March 31 1856 (city)
Government
- Manager	Larry Arft
- City Attorney	Tom Casper
- City Council	Martin Densch (President) Kevin Leavy (V. President) Terrence T. Monahan Joel Patch Douglas Eddy Chad Murry
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Website: www.ci.beloit.wi.us

Beloit is a city located in Rock County, Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 35,775. Beloit is the location of Beloit College. Beloit is home to a Hormel plant, the world's largest can of chili [1], and the Beloit Snappers baseball club of the Midwest League. Beloit lays claim to such inventions as the speedometer, Korn Kurls and Appleby's twine binder. Korn Kurls are credited for the founding of the snack food industry, and resemble present day Cheetos.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 43.2 km² (16.7 mi²). 42.6 km² (16.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.38% water. Location: 42°30′30″N, 89°01′54″W.

The city is located adjacent to the Town of Beloit, Town of Turtle, and the Illinois municipality of South Beloit. There is very little agricultural land remaining between Beloit and Janesville or between Beloit and Rockford, Illinois. The total urban population is over 45,000.^[1] The city is normally considered part of the Beloit-Janesville MSA.

Most of Beloit's development is occurring on the east side, adjacent to Interstates 39/90 and Interstate 43, where the city annexed rural land for the extensive Beloit Gateway Industrial Park, as well as in the newly revitalized downtown.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 35,775 people, 13,370 households, and 8,904 families residing in the city. The population density is 840.2/km² (2,176.6/mi²). There are 14,262 housing units at an average density of 335.0 persons/km² (867.7 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 75.57% White, 15.37% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 4.62% from other races, and 2.85% from two or more races. 9.10% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 13,370 households out of which 34.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% are married couples living together, 16.6% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 33.4% are non-families. 27.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.57 and the average family size is 3.10.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $36,414, and the median income for a family is $42,083. Males have a median income of $32,870 versus $23,925 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,912. 12.5% of the population and 9.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.4% are under the age of 18 and 6.3% are 65 or older.

Beloit's Diversity	% of minorities
Beloit	25.43%
Wisconsin	8.47%
United States	23.11%

Recreation and Development

Beloiters enjoy a large variety of recreational activities, in part because of the city's uncommon diversity. Beloit is home to a professional minor league baseball team, the Beloit Snappers, as well as a lively riverfront popular to many city dwellers. The downtown, home to many small shops and boutiques has seen a recent renewal, after decades of lost business due to Interstates 90 and 43. Up-scale downtown condominiums are now visible, with the additions of such venues as Heritage View and the Beloit Inn. Opportunity and easy access to other communities have led to a spurt of growth in the area, some calling it a renaissance of sorts.

Downtown Beloit Assosiation

Recognition

• Beloit is the only city in the state of Wisconsin to be home to 3 multi-billion dollar international companies.
• ABC Supply Company
• Regal-Beloit
• Kerry Ingredients

• In 2007, America in Bloom, a national competition between cities declared Beloit as "the best-kept secret of the midwest."
• In September, America in Bloom named Beloit the overall winner in its population class, Beloit also revieved top honors for any sized city in the category of landscaping.
• Anthropologist Margaret Mead described Beloit as, "America in microcosm."
• Beloit has been a Tree City for the past 19 years, earning its place as one of the longest running tree cities in the state, and nation.

List of Tree Cities in Rock County	# of years	First Year
Beloit	19 Years	1987
Evansville	6 Years	2001
Clinton	4 Years	2003
Janesville	3 Years	2004

Beloit Festivals

Beloit's main festivals include:

• Beloit Riverfest "Largest Rock Festival of the Midwest"
• Beloit International Film Festival
• Winterfest
• Festival's at Harry's Place
• Music at Harry's Place
• Movie's at Harry's Place
• ArtWalk
• Hollidazzle
• Hog Hula
• Christmas Lights Parade and Festival
• Thunder on the Rock
• Pops on the Rock-4th of July Festival
• Gospel in the Park
• Celebrate! & Grand Prix Race
• Beloit Farmers Market
• Southern Wisconsin AirFest
• Beloit Heritage Days
• Beloit Autorama

Businesses/Organizations

Beloit's Major Industry

• ABC Supply Company†

• Fairbanks-Morse
• Patch Products†
• Regal-Beloit†

• Alcoa Wheel Products
• Frito Lay
• Kerry Group (Headquarters of Kerry Ingredients)†
• Genecor International Wisconsin, Inc. (A Danisco Division)
• Broaster Company†
• Hormel
• Metso
• Kettle Foods
• Staples, Inc. Online Fulfillment Center

A † indicates Beloit is home to the company's World Headquarters.

Education

• Beloit College, a liberal arts college with undergraduate enrollment around 1,300. The campus is notable for numerous prehistoric Indian mounds.
  

  

  Beloit College, Prehistoric indian mounds along with the Middle College
• Blackhawk Technical College, which has its main campus between Beloit and Janesville, has an adult education center in downtown Beloit.
• Beloit Memorial High School is the city's public high school. The school is part of the School District of Beloit.

Notable people

• Roy Chapman Andrews, adventurer naturalist
• Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin
• Fred Ascani, early aviator
• Franklin Clarke, Dallas Cowboys (1960-1967) and Cleveland Browns (1957-1959)
• Cortney Bell famous singer., 1992 -
• Howard Conant, poster artist
• Betty Everett, rock and jazz singer ("The Shoop Shoop Song")
• Frederick C. Grant, Episcopal theologian
• Arthur Pratt Warner, American inventor with over 100 patents on record
• Jonathan Harr, journalist and author (A Civil Action)
• Ken Hendricks, founder of ABC Supply, listed on the Forbes 400
• Darius Jones, football player, Parade All-American LB, former Wisconsin Badger
• Jerry Kenney, New York Yankees (1967, 1969-1972) and Cleveland Indians (1973)
• Eugene Lee, stage designer
• Danica Patrick (Indy Car Driver)
• Tiara Purifoy, former American Idol contestant
• Judy Robson, Majority Leader, Wisconsin State Senate
• Gilbert M. Smith, botanist
• John D. Wickhem, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice
• Robin Zander, musician (Cheap Trick)

Trivia

• Beloit's Famous Water Tower Place went under demolition in 1935, but was halted shortly after because of the sheer cost of tearing down the tower.
• Beloit College is the oldest college in Wisconsin, and has been known as "the Harvard of the Midwest."
• Beloit lays claim to such nicknames as "petunia city", "snack foods central", "Paper-making capital of the world" and "the Gateway to Wisconsin."
• Beloit is known as the horseshoeing capital of the world.
• Abraham Lincoln spoke to the citizens of Beloit on October 1, 1859 at Hanchett's Hall.
• In 1974 the Beloit Fire Dept. became the first in the United States to have personnel trained at the paramedic level in a city of under 50,000 people.

Fairbanks-Morse complex

Construction along riverfront, downtown Beloit

Former Harvey House sign off of I-90 that was torn down in 2006

Athletic championships

Beloit Memorial High School State Championship	Years
High School Basketball	1973, 1969, 1947, 1937, 1934, 1933, 1932
High School Baseball	1965
High School Hockey	1999
High School Golf	1932, 1945
High School Swimming	1975, 1976
High School Track & Field	1949, 1977, 1991
American Legion Baseball	2000, 1973, 1966, 1961, 1949
American Jr. Legion Baseball	2007, 1998

External links

• Official City Webpage
• Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce
• Visit Beloit Beloit's Convention and Visitor Center.
• Beloit as an Ecosystem An exploration of the land, water, and society of Beloit, Wisconsin.
• Beloit Public Library Be sure the check out the Beloit Area link in the top menu bar.
• Beloit Historical Society Articles and images from Beloit's early years.
• Beloit Snappers Our very own class A minor league ball club.
• School District of Beloit The School District of Beloit's official homepage.

• City-Data Beloit Wisconsin Webpage Data on the City of Beloit aggregated by City-data.
• Yahoo City of Beloit Club Search Unofficial Beloit and Stateline area search portal.

References

Janesville, Wisconsin
Surrounding municipalities (over 10,000)
Beloit°
Surrounding municipalities (under 10,000)
Edgerton° | Fulton* | Harmony* | La Prairie* | Milton° | Rock* | Janesville* | Milton*| S. Beloit, IL° | Beloit* | Turtle* |
Rock County
*town °city

	State of Wisconsin Madison (capital)
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Regions	Central Wisconsin | Chicago metropolitan area | Chippewa Valley | Door Peninsula | Driftless Area | Eastern Ridges and Lowlands | Fox River Valley | Greater Milwaukee | Lake Superior Lowland | Northern Highland | Western Upland
Largest cities	Appleton | Beloit | Eau Claire | Fond du Lac | Green Bay | Janesville | Kenosha | La Crosse | Madison | Manitowoc | Milwaukee | Oshkosh | Racine | Sheboygan | Stevens Point | Superior | Waukesha | Wausau | Wauwatosa | West Allis | West Bend
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Coordinates: 42°30′30″N, 89°01′54″W

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